Opinion: Larian is Ditching the Best Combat Innovation in Decades—And We’re Going to Miss It

The Bottom Line: Larian Studios has confirmed that future Divinity titles will not carry forward the controversial dual-armor system from Original Sin 2. While critics blast the mechanic as "broken," its removal marks the end of a rare era where tactical predictability triumphed over the frustration of RNG-heavy saving throws. We are looking at a future where Divinity likely pivots toward the Baldur’s Gate 3 model—safer, more mainstream, but arguably less tactically distinct.

For those of us who have been clicking through isometric maps since the original Fallout and Neverwinter Nights, the "Armor System" in Divinity: Original Sin 2 (D:OS2) was a revelation. It was a middle finger to the D20-roll frustration that has defined the genre for thirty years. Now, as Larian prepares to move on, the internal debate is heating up. Some call it a "broken" mess that forced rigid party compositions; we call it the most honest combat rhythm ever put to code.

The Mechanics of a Masterpiece (or a Mess)

To understand why this change matters, you have to look at what D:OS2 actually did. It replaced the "roll to hit/roll to save" loop with a binary, deterministic system. If you had armor, you were safe from Crowd Control (CC). If you didn't, you were vulnerable. Simple.

Why the "Broken" Allegations Don't Hold Water

The loudest complaint—one we've heard echoed by writers across the industry—is that the system incentivized "pure" parties. If you ran two mages and two warriors, you were essentially fighting two separate health bars on every enemy. The meta-gaming move was to go 100% Physical or 100% Magic to strip armor faster.

But that’s not a bug; that’s a build challenge. We’ve seen dozens of CRPGs where "viability" is just as restrictive once you crank the difficulty to Tactician or Honor Mode. The dual-armor system demanded an aggressive, proactive playstyle. It forced players to stop playing defense and start calculating the "Alpha Strike." In D:OS2, your Rogue wasn't just a backstabber; they were a vital CC vector because their physical damage paved the way for a Battering Ram knockdown that worked every single time.

The Consequence: The "BG3-ification" of Divinity

By dropping this system, Larian is signaling a retreat to familiar territory. While Baldur’s Gate 3 is a generational triumph, its combat relies heavily on the 5e ruleset—meaning you can plan a perfect strategy only to have it ruined by a low roll on a Hold Person spell.

• The Loss of the "Chess Match": Without the armor buffer, combat becomes more chaotic and less about the "guaranteed" lock-down.
• Return of the Healer: In D:OS2, healing was often a trap because armor restoration was king. Moving back to HP-focused combat likely brings back the "dedicated healer" tax on party composition.
• Mainstream Appeal vs. Tactical Depth: Larian is likely aiming for the frictionless experience that made BG3 a hit, but we risk losing the "crunch" that made Divinity a hardcore favorite.

Our Verdict

We’ve spent 20 years watching RPGs try to "fix" the problem of a boss monster being permanently stunned or a player losing their turn to a bad dice roll. Larian’s D:OS2 armor system was the boldest solution we’ve ever seen. It turned combat into a high-stakes race to the "CC threshold."

Slandering the system as "broken" ignores the fact that it provided a level of tactical agency that RNG-based systems simply cannot match. If the next Divinity plays it safe with a standard D20-style system, it might be a better "product," but it will be a less interesting game. We’re holding out hope that Larian’s "new and better" replacement isn't just a return to the dice-rolling status quo.